Brandon Hayato Go began cooking Japanese food at age 15 in his family's restaurant in Southern California. While continuing in the family business for 25 years, he travelled to Japan regularly to train in various disciplines of Japanese food during his 20s and 30s, beginning with izakaya cooking, then soba, and finally in Michelin-star kaiseki restaurants, before opening Hayato in Downtown Los Angeles in 2018. In its first year of operation, Hayato was awarded a Michelin star, Brandon was named one of Food and Wine’s Best New Chefs in America, and nominated for the James Beard award as Best Chef in California.